Bishop of Oxford calls on world’s leaders to take brave decisions at Copenhagen

The Bishop of Oxford is calling on world leaders to press ahead for a global deal at the Copenhagen summit on climate change.

“We call on our leaders to set aside defensive strategies and focus on leaving a world fit for our grandchildren,” the Rt Revd John Pritchard said.

“Yes, the task is massive. Politically binding agreements will be hard to achieve, though not impossible, particularly now both the USA and China have entered the field with promises.

“In common with many Christians, I will be praying for the participants to be brave rather than cautious, prophetic rather than defensive. There is simply no time to waste.

“With droughts, floods, melting glaciers, rising sea levels, erratic storms, thawing permafrost and much more, the earth is increasingly unwell – and, as ever, it is the poorest countries that suffer most. The boundary figure for atmospheric carbon is 350 parts per million if temperature rise is to be kept to less than a relatively safe 2 degrees above current levels. And already we are at 387 parts per million. The outlook is moving from amber to red.”

Bishop John said he feared the talks might end in stalemate. “Developing countries not unnaturally want the wealthier countries to bear the burden of fixing the problem they have created with their excessive consumption. The wealthier countries say they are having to re-engineer their economies away from carbon-dependency, just at the time of a credit crunch, record debt and high unemployment. Something has to give.

“Many people will be following events at Copenhagen with concern and prayer. If we are to 'love our neighbours'as the Bible tells us to, we need to realise that our neighbours are those generations who may have to pick up our failures. We can’t stand by and do nothing.”

Thousands of Christians are attending a special service in London next Saturday (5th December). The service is part of ‘the Wave’, a march through central London.

One of those taking part in the service is the Bishop of Reading, the Rt Revd Stephen Cottrell. He said this week: “Would you deliberately tread on your grandchildren’s hands? Or lock them in a room and deprive them of water? Or leave them standing alone in the heat of the day? Well, that’s what we’re doing if we fail to find a sustainable way of inhabiting this planet. We won’t suffer, but the generations who come after us will. These talks in Copenhagen offer the world the chance of a better future. That is why they matter.”

A Message from Bishop Stephen